Celebrate National Pizza Party Day

Celebrate National Pizza Party Day

Some food historians believe that pizza-like dishes (baking bread with toppings on stones in a wood oven) can be traced back to the early Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures.

Today's pizza pie has been attributed to baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples, Italy. In 1889, a special pizza dish was created to honor King Umberto and Queen Margherita by Esposito. To represent the colors of the Italian flag, Esposito used Neapolitan flat bread with green basil, white mozzarella cheese and red tomato sauce.

Celebrate the eating of pizza on May 17, 2013.

Pizza Firsts:

First pizzeria in North America was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi in New York City.

First "Pizza Hut" chain of restaurants appeared in the United States during the 1930s.

Frozen pizza was invented by Rose Totino of Minnesota.

Camela Vitale of Dix Hills, N.Y., invented the pizza saver (made of plastic) to keep the top of the box from touching the pizza.

If you have a craving for pizza, check out these titles for young people.